Junction box

Abstract

Junction box for connecting a multi-wire flat cable to several terminals of a connection. The junction box comprises a support surface for a multi-wire flat cable to be contacted, and several contact blades for contacting the cable on one side without stripping the insulation. In addition, the junction box comprises several terminals, and several terminal rails adjoining the terminals, wherein each terminal rail has at least one hole, wherein a contact pin is inserted through a respective hole in a terminal rail. In each case, a contact pin is provided for a wire-to-terminal contact. The assignment of contact pins to the holes in the terminal rails defines which wire of the flat cable is connected to which terminal. An electrical contact is established between contact blades and terminal rails via one or more contact pins.

I claim: 
     
       1. A junction box for connecting a multi-wire flat cable to several terminals of a connection, wherein the junction box comprises:
 a support surface for a multi-wire flat cable to be contacted; 
 a plurality of contact blades for single-sided, stripping-free contacting of several wires of the multi-wire flat cable; 
 a plurality of terminals; and 
 a plurality of terminal rails adjoining the terminals, wherein each terminal rail has at least one hole, wherein a contact pin is inserted through one hole in a terminal rail in each case, 
 wherein a contact pin is provided in each case for a wire-to-terminal contact, 
 wherein an assignment of contact pins to the holes in the terminal rails defines which wire of the multi-wire flat cable is connected to which terminal, 
 wherein electrical contact is made between one or more contact blades and one or more terminal rails via one or more contact pins, and 
 wherein the junction box comprises cross-connectors, wherein the cross-connectors establish the electrical connection between the contact pins and the contact blades, wherein the cross-connectors comprise a row with several first holes, wherein positioning the contact blades in the corresponding holes determines which cross-connector is connected to which contact blade and thus to which cable wire of the multi-wire flat cable to be contacted or tapped. 
 
     
     
       2. The junction box in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the cross-connectors comprise a row with several second holes in which the contact pins extending from the terminal rails are received. 
     
     
       3. The junction box in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein each terminal rail comprises a row with several holes arranged in succession, wherein the contact pins extend from a hole in a terminal rail to a hole in a cross-connector to make the electrical connection from a particular terminal rail to a particular cross-connector. 
     
     
       4. The junction box in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the junction box comprises a slide-in insulator positioned between the cross-connectors and the terminal rails. 
     
     
       5. The junction box in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the cross-connectors are attached to the side of the slide-in insulator facing the multi-wire flat cable to be contacted and the terminal rails are attached to the opposite side of the slide-in insulator. 
     
     
       6. The junction box in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the slide-in insulator is provided with holes only at those positions at which contact pins are inserted through the insulating body from the terminal elements to the cross-connectors, so that the positioning of the contact pins in the holes in the terminal connectors and the holes in the cross-connectors is predetermined by a hole coding on the slide-in insulator. 
     
     
       7. The junction box in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the slide-in insulator is provided with contact pins permanently inserted at certain positions, which determine an electrical connection between certain terminal rails and certain cross-connectors. 
     
     
       8. The junction box in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the contact pins are fixedly anchored in an electrically insulating pin plate such that the arrangement of the contact pins corresponds to the desired connection of wires in the multi-wire flat cable to the terminals and the electrical contact between the contact blades and the terminal rails is effected by pressing the pin plate onto the terminal rails, wherein, during the pressing, the contact pins are driven through the holes of the terminal rail into the holes of the cross-connectors. 
     
     
       9. The junction box in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the junction box is constructed in several parts, wherein a first part comprises a sleeve, wherein a slide-in unit comprising the slide-in insulator, terminal rails with inserted contact pins, and cross-connectors with inserted contact blades is inserted into the sleeve, so that the contact blades protrude from the sleeve on its side facing the support surface for the multi-wire flat cable, and wherein a second part comprises the support surface for the multi-wire flat cable, as well as a receptacle for the first part with side walls, in which the sleeve of the first part is inserted for contacting the multi-wire flat cable, and wherein a lever element is provided in order to press the sleeve together with the protruding contact blades in the direction of the support surface for the multi-wire flat cable in order to contact the multi-wire flat cable. 
     
     
       10. The junction box in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the junction box is adapted to connect a first and a second flat cable having five wires each, wherein three of the wires are phase conductors, one wire is a neutral conductor, and another wire is a grounding conductor, and correspondingly five contact blades, five cross-connectors, five terminals with associated terminal rail, and five contact pins are provided to connect respective phase conductors, neutral conductors and grounding conductors of the first flat cable to the terminals for the respective phase conductors, neutral conductors and grounding conductors of the second flat cable. 
     
     
       11. The junction box in accordance with  claim 10 , wherein the junction box is adapted to connect two data conductors of the multi-wire flat cables in addition to the five conductors of the first and second multi-wire flat cables, wherein contact blades, cross-connectors, terminal connectors and contact pins are provided, respectively, to connect the respective data conductors of the first flat cable to the respective terminals for the data conductors of the second flat cable. 
     
     
       12. The junction box in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the terminals belong to a connection which is a connection for a round cable or for a flat cable. 
     
     
       13. The junction box in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the terminals are arranged at right angles to the first flat cable resting on the support surface and thus a connection can be created between two flat cables arranged perpendicular to each other, or wherein the terminals are arranged parallel to the first flat cable resting on the support surface and thus a connection can be created between two flat cables arranged parallel one above the other. 
     
     
       14. An installation kit, wherein the installation kit comprises:
 at least one through-line comprising a flat cable; 
 at least one connection line; 
 at least one junction box, which connects the through-line to the connection line, wherein the junction box comprises:
 a support surface for a multi-wire flat cable to be contacted; 
 a plurality of contact blades for single-sided, stripping-free contacting of several wires of the multi-wire flat cable; 
 a plurality of terminals; and 
 a plurality of terminal rails adjoining the terminals, wherein each terminal rail has at least one hole, wherein a contact pin is inserted through one hole in a terminal rail in each case, 
 
 wherein a contact pin is provided in each case for wire-to-terminal contact, 
 wherein an assignment of contact pins to the holes in the terminal rails defines which wire of the multi-wire flat cable is connected to which terminal, 
 wherein electrical contact is made between one or more contact blades and one or more terminal rails via one or more contact pins, and 
 wherein the junction box comprises cross-connectors, wherein the cross-connectors establish the electrical connection between the contact pins and the contact blades, wherein the cross-connectors comprise a row with several first holes, wherein positioning the contact blades in the corresponding holes determines which cross-connector is connected to which contact blade and thus to which cable wire of the multi-wire flat cable to be contacted or tapped.